I have never held Mike in very high esteem, and have never considered him as good as a lot of historical heavyweights. I had great respect for Cus D'amato and the support group Cus put around Mike, but Mike himself was not a person I could respect in spite of his talent, accomplishments and boxing record.
I consider mentioning Ali in the same sentence as Mike an injustice to Ali, at least a dozen of Ali's opponents would have cleaned Mike's clock in their primes and Ali would have KOed Mike faster than Holyfield did.
For some reason, many casual boxing fans have some kind of unhealthy obsession with power. That's why they care more about seeing knockouts than skill. The heavyweight division has also been historically, the most popular division in boxing.
Tyson was a knockout artist who excited the general public when the heavyweight division just so happened to be at one of it's lowest points. Buster Douglas not finishing him had a lot to do with Don King's influence over the public's opinion. Evander Holyfield would have most likely finished him, had Tyson not gone to prison.
he was unbeatable but for a short period of time. his legacy is different. he was never a career orientated legend. he had a period in the 80s and early 1990s where very few if any boxer in history could have beaten him. it was just coincidence that there were not many good boxers around at that time. the manner in which he dispatched his opponents was unheard of and unseen. even great fighters in the past did not win with so much confidence- alis confidence was a bit playful. tyson knew he wouldnt lose. problems outside the ring and his own demons held him back or finished him so you could say he didnt fulfill his potential. he and naseem hamed are the same- potentially unbeatable but couldnt or wouldnt hold it together or just got bored.......a 1986-88 tyson would imho destroy lewis evander douglas and don king within 5 rounds
I'll make this short because the answer is short.
Mike Tyson was one of the most explosive and exciting heavyweights to ever lace them up.
Anyone one that didn't like to watch Mike Tyson fight had better start cutting back on thier meds.
Nothing to do with his legacy. If you watched a Tyson fight, win or lose, you got your money's worth. Just that simple. He was like an Alfonzo Zamora in a big man's body. Take it from there.
True, he was a hard hitter, but it does not take a brain surgeon tosee that Tyson could be taken apart by a speedy boxer, who would avoid his punches and land combinations and jabs. He will never rank up there with the all time greats, A prime Ali, Joe Frazier Joe Louis,a prime Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, Sonny Liston, Lennox Lewis and Rocky Marciano. He was not an intelligent fighter, his competition was horrible and he was self destructive. Power and no brains. And ended up a real nowhere.man as sung by The Beatles. Buster Douglas and Robyn Givens mom really finished him, also he could not drive.
